Wednesday, May 06, 2020

The chickens who won't release music right now

CHROMATICA.  That's the title of Lady Gaga's next album.  It was supposed to be out already but she delayed it due to the coronavirus.  Now she's going to release it May 29th.

I don't see the need for delays.

First off, I don't think the coronavirus is going away.  I think it will likely mimic the 1918 pandemic and drop off over the summer only to returns even stronger next winter.

Second, what's the point.  Is your music ready to go or not?  Fiona Apple's FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS is a masterpiece. 

fiona

She didn't blink.  She put it out and I believe a large number of us have enjoyed it.  I know it's gotten praise -- including from me. 

Sam Smith delayed an album too -- an album I really wanted to hear.  He's even changing the title due to the pandemic -- it will no longer be called TO DIE FOR.

Weezer -- anyone remember them? -- released a song ("Hero") but are delaying their latest album because of the coronavirus.

And let's be clear, this is never because an artist has the coronavirus, this is because they're afraid they won't get all the publicity in the world.

It's chicken s**t.

Now, in these difficult times, people need music more than ever.

Parcel's LIVE VOL. 1 is an album that just came out and is worth a listen.


Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

 
Wednesday, May 6, 2020.  C-SPAN provides the perspective the news industry ignores -- just like they ignore the seventh death of a US service member in Iraq this year.


RAINN is the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.  C-SPAN's WASHINGTON JOURNAL is apparently the only one that can actually do news.  Heather Drevna is the vice president of RAINN.




Heather Drevna: What I can say is we shouldn't dismiss someone's allegations of assault merely because their story has changed or what they have told audiences has differed at times.  You need to take into account her explanation for why the details she described last year don't all match what she's alleging now, why the complaint might not match what she's alleging now.  You also need to take into account that she told some friends and family members at the time of the alleged assault.  It's not unusual for a survivor to take years to process the trauma that they have experienced and just because they've not come forward publicly immediately after events may have occurred doesn't mean that they did not happen. 


MSNBC trash who helped sell the illegal Iraq War and who tried to prevent marriage equality presented herself as an expert and tried to shame Tara Reade.  Tara is the woman who has come forward to accuse Joe Biden of assault.

As Rebecca noted ("bob somerby is extra creepy") trash is gearing up their attacks on Tara.  Bob Somerby is not anyone who needs to weigh in.  Though he fancies himself a psychologist, the reality is that he's not.  The reality is that he was part of the squad attacking 'bimbos' to protect Bill Clinton.  The reality is that he has smeared and attacked every woman who came forward to discuss assault or harassment or even consensual sex with/by Bill Clinton.  He's a sexist and that's just reality.  As we've long noted, Thomas Friedman or any other man can lie or whatever and it's a slap on the wrist but Bob goes on a tear -- like a man who beats a woman -- when he's going after Katharine Q. Seeley or any other woman.  He rips Maureen Dowd apart without even knowing her work, for example.  At one point, he was slamming her for not criticizing Condi Rice (this was when Barack was president) when, in fact, Maureen had repeatedly called out Rice.  He also has creepy friends including the one who tried to stalk Rebecca.


He and others are being exposed as the true idiots that they are.  They look like the ridiculous women in COMING HOME who don't want to hear Jane Fonda's Sally talk about what the wounded veterans need.  They think they're informed and caring but they're really just ignorant and harmful.

They know nothing about assault and they just know how to attack.

Martin Tolchin is the perfect example.  He wrote a letter to THE NEW YORK TIMES insisting he didn't care and it didn't matter and he just wants to see Joe Biden's coronation.  Tolchin's letter shouldn't have been published but because the man is a journalist, it got printed.


Alex Salvi Tweets:

 Martin Tolchin—a man the NYT says is a Politico co-founder—says he doesn’t want an investigation into Tara Reade’s sexual assault allegations against Biden because it could hurt his candidacy. Politico denies he is a co-founder, but he is listed as “helping launch” the outlet.

Martin is 91 years old.  He was born in September 20, 1928.  He is your typical Biden supporter.  Elderly.  Grew up when racism, homophobia and sexism were the norm.  An old idiot who honestly should grasp that the world has moved on.  Are we at all surprised that a man who has benefited from the privilege of his race and his gender and his perceived sexuality would be set in his ways and see as a threat any move towards equality?  No.  We're not at all surprised.

As Lyta Gold (CURRENT AFFAIRS) concludes:

When a woman accuses a powerful man of sexual assault or harassment, most people will choose to defend the man. It’s easier, and it’s safer politically, especially if the man is perceived to be a member of the “team.” It’s amazing how many women are willing to be handmaidens of patriarchy, and it’s amazing how many women are even willing to do that while calling themselves feminists, and even heading ostensibly feminist organizations! But words have meanings; events are things that occurred. No truth is incontrovertible but plenty are damned likely. And if, like former prosecutor Michael J. Stern, you don’t have anything sensitive or intelligent or constructive to say about a rape inquiry, you could try just shutting the f**k up.

Last Friday, Joe went on MSNBC and declared the papers were at the National Archives and that he would not allow anyone to go through his personal papers at the University of Delaware.  Joe was lying.  (Misdirecting, as Kat noted.)  As Marcia pointed out, somehow Joe's lie is 'proof' against Tara according to sexist trash like John Aravosis.   No, it doesn't make sense.  R, Cort Kirkwood (NEW AMERICAN) notes:

Biden suggested opening his files in last week’s official denial of Reade’s sex-assault allegation.
After almost a month of dithering, Biden finally published a statement at Medium.com, most of which told readers that he — like diamonds — is a girl’s best friend.
After writing that Reade’s claims “aren’t true” and that the assault “never happened,” Biden offered this idea:
There is a clear, critical part of this story that can be verified. The former staffer has said she filed a complaint back in 1993. But she does not have a record of this alleged complaint. The papers from my Senate years that I donated to the University of Delaware do not contain personnel files. It is the practice of Senators to establish a library of personal papers that document their public record: speeches, policy proposals, positions taken, and the writing of bills.
There is only one place a complaint of this kind could be — the National Archives. The National Archives is where the records are kept at what was then called the Office of Fair Employment Practices. I am requesting that the Secretary of the Senate ask the Archives to identify any record of the complaint she alleges she filed and make available to the press any such document. If there was ever any such complaint, the record will be there.
Biden said likewise when he sat for an interview with Mika Brzezinski on Friday.
But Biden was wrong, the National Archives told ABC News: “Any records of Senate personnel complaints from 1993 would have remained under the control of the Senate. Accordingly, inquiries related to these records should be directed to the Senate.”
That sent Biden to Julie Adams, secretary of the Senate, to request “assistance in determining whether 27 years ago a staff member in my United States Senate office filed a complaint alleging sexual harassment.”
Not gonna happen.
Yesterday, Adams explained why: The “Secretary has no discretion to disclose any such information” because the law forbids it.
The Secretary’s Office was advised by Senate Legal Counsel that disclosing the existence of such specific records would amount to a prohibited disclosure under the Government Employee Rights Act of 1991. Furthermore, we are not aware of any exceptions in law authorizing our office to disclose any such records that do exist, if any, even to original participants in a matter.
Believing that Biden, a former chairman of the Judiciary Committee, was ignorant of the law on those two points is tough.

That aside, given that he and the University of Delaware have said records stored there are closed for the foreseeable future, voters can’t find out before Election Day whom to believe.


Farron Cousins (RING OF FIRE) takes on Joe's nonsense below.



At TEEN VOGUE, Jaclyn Freidman points out:

Whenever a woman dares to speak up about sexual violence, especially when the man who hurt her is powerful or beloved, this bad-faith “we can’t believe ALL women” backlash washes over us. We hear so much support for women and recognition of the abuse we endure when it’s conceptual, like all the people who say they support the #MeToo movement. When those same people are faced with a specific woman with a story to tell about a man they admire, that support evaporates fast, replaced with a lot of legalistic talk. But the court of public opinion isn’t an actual court. Personally believing a woman doesn’t violate a man’s rights. No one is due a presumption of innocence when it comes to what we individually believe, and if they are, why aren’t women ever afforded that presumption? Why are we always searching for reasons a man can’t possibly have harmed anyone, and reasons the woman in question is lying? Why not the other way around?


Nathaniel Cline (LOUDOUN TIMES) reports:

Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.-10th) says the sexual assault allegation against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden should be investigated.
Wexton, who endorsed Biden in March, said “women deserve to be heard and taken seriously” when they come forward about sexual assault.
[. . .]
“The standard by which we address any allegations should never be dependent on who is involved or their political affiliation,” Wexton said in a prepared statement provided to the Times-Mirror. “These claims should be investigated and thoroughly reviewed, especially when a candidate for elected office is involved.”


In other news, Sgt. Christopher Wesley Curry.  Why haven't the media reported on him.  Or on the six other US service members who have died in Iraq since the start of this year?  Matthew Cox (MILITARY.COM) reports:

 Curry joined 3rd Battalion's Charlie Company in April 2019, and his technical expertise was an asset to the unit, Lt. Col. Jimmy Howell, 3-21 Infantry commander, said in the release.

"Sgt. Curry's incessant optimism was the hallmark of his personality, and often provided respite for others during times of stress," Howell said. "His honesty, light heartedness, and wit will always be remembered by his brothers in arms. His loss is being felt immensely by Charlie Company, 3-21 Infantry, and the 1/25th SBCT. It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to one of our own."


STARS AND STRIPES Tweets:
Sgt. Christopher Wesley Curry, a 23-year-old soldier from Terre Haute, Ind., died Monday in a noncombat related incident in Irbil, Iraq, according to the Pentagon.
Soldier from Indiana dies in noncombat-related incident in Iraq
Sgt. Christopher Wesley Curry, a 23-year-old soldier from Terre Haute, Ind., died Monday in a noncombat related incident in Erbil, Iraq,


The following sites updated:








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